Three games on the docket, including a Hit the Road Early holiday special from Boston. Nor’easter takes on Boston University at 4:00 in a crosstown rivalry.
There will be lots of cooking and cleaning at my house in preparation for the guests. I will watch the web stream with the laptop hanging off my chest connected by a cord around my neck, much like the cigarette girls at the Kit Kat Lounge when Sgt. Carter would head out for a night on the town in Gomer Pyle.
A bit of northern education for the southerners. The Huskies (and Pride) may be from that big, gaping void above Pennsylvania/Jersey called “up north,” but they have rivalries and stories, too. Our goal here is that by the time you arrive in Richmond you have every nugget you need to chat up any member of the conference.
For Northeastern, BU fits the crosstown rivalry bill. They like to call BU “Silber State,” after the former BU president John Silber, who killed the school’s football program. You see, Silber was one of those intellectuals who didn’t like the idea of football. He also probably loved smoking jackets and Betty Grable, but I digress…
BU is also termed the “Rat Dogs.” The actual nickname is the Terriers, and a Boston Terrier, in the words of the Huskies faithful, is no more than a rat with longer legs.
Side note: if you have a good rivalry story for me, you know where the email resides. Happy to educate everyone on things they “may not know but would definitely add to their enjoyment of CAA basketball.”
Here’s BU coach Pat Chambers–fresh off his stint as police captain in Mike Hammer and career with the Seattle Supersonics–on the Northeastern game. (Gotta hand it to the kid doing the interviewing. Coach gave a stock quote about getting better and the kid followed up with “well, what areas?”)
Of course it’s Tom Chambers. Relax.
BU is an upper echelon America East team with two big time scorers–John Holland and Corey Lowe. Side note, part 2: BU won this game last year. Lowe scored 27 and Holland 17 in the win.
Not happening this year. Nor’easter has the revenge factor and wins, 72-62.
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Georgia State hosts Utah Valley as part of the South Alabama tournament. Utah Valley is an independent in its first year of full-fledged division one status. They are led by two Jordans: Jordan Swarbrick and Jourdain Scoubes.
UV is not big, and Georgia State is. Plus, Joe Dukes is a hefty guard. Panthers roll, 68-55.
Third Side Note: Required reading about these early season tournaments. This just in: Luke Winn–very good at his job.
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Third game has William & Mary facing Hampton. Since Hampton is facing quite a bit of perseverance in a trying season, we’re just going to move on out of respect.
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Last night:
The Dub drilled VMI 115-95, breaking a school record for scoring and netting fans $1 burgers. Mull aces it by not focusing on the crooked numbers skewed by the pace; rather on what they mean. Also in this link is a link to the boxscore, and the latest HawkTalk.
Schleissel over at The Zone, with Kennedy quotes, on Towson’s loss to Navy. Really, that’s an egg.
Beach gives us the Hofstra report, another egg.
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Perhaps more later. It is, after all, the holidays.
